Iranian Steel Heavyweights See 3% Decline in Exports (Mar-Oct 2018)

EghtesadOnline: Major Iranian steelmakers exported a total of 3.88 million tons of semi-finished and finished steel products during the first seven months of the current fiscal year (March 21-Oct. 22) to register a year-on-year contraction of 3%, latest data released by the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization show.

News ID: ۷۴۶۲۱۴

12 November 2018

The mills shipped out 364,215 tons of steel during the seventh month of the year (Sept. 22-Oct. 22), which signified a downturn of 17% compared with the same month of the year before.

ESCO Ramps Up Monthly Shipments

Esfahan Steel Company (ESCO) was the only major steel exporter to register year-on-year growth during the seventh month of the year, as it shipped 39,190 tons to register a year-on-year rise of 59%.

The company actually saw a decline in monthly exports across three major categories of beam, rebar and "other products". ESCO shipped out 1,091 tons of beam during the seventh month, registering an annual decline of 86%. It exported 1,852 tons of rebar, 69% down year-on-year, Financial Tribune reported.

However, its exports of coils countered the declines and accounted for the year-on-year growth in its monthly performance. The company exported 2,492 tons of coils, up 115%. It also exported 33,755 tons worth of ingots.

From a seven-month perspective, the company registered year-on-year growths in the categories of beam and rebar. The 74,112 tons of beam and 108,196 tons of rebar exported by ESCO during the first seven months of the year saw an annual increase of 16% and 26% respectively.

The major steel exporter shipped out 252,486 tons of goods listed in the "other products" category, down by 49% YOY and 23,624 tons of coils, down by 36%. Its ingot exports stood at 147,996 tons during the seven months.

MSC Only Source of Growth in 7 Months

During the first seven months of the current year, Mobarakeh Steel Company, also located in Isfahan, was the only company to showcase year-on-year growth in shipments.

The company, the largest steelmaker in the Middle East and North Africa and one of the largest industrial complexes operating in Iran, exported 717,780 tons of products during the aforesaid period to register a 22% YOY rise.

At 423,148 tons showing a yearly growth of 87%, hot-rolled coil was the single exported product responsible for the company's growth since all other exports were noticeably lower.

During the seventh month of the current year, MSC joined all other steel heavyweights in Iran in registering an annual decline. It shipped out 54,130 tons, which saw a considerable 66% downturn compared to its exports in the corresponding period of the previous year.

During the seventh month, the company's hot-rolled coil exports fell by 92% to 702 tons. It did not export any CRC.

Khouzestan Exports Down

With a total of more than 1.34 million tons over the seven months and 143,000 tons in the seventh month, Khouzestan Steel Company was Iran's biggest exporter of steel.

Nonetheless, the mill experienced annual declines both during the seventh month of the current year and during the first seven months of the year.

All of KSC's exported products, namely bloom, billet and slabs, declined. The company exported 66,576 tons of bloom, 45,004 tons of billet and 31,425 tons of slabs during the seventh month of the current year. They saw an overall 16% YOY decline in total exports during the month to 143,005 tons.

In the seven-month period, KSC exported 413,356 tons of bloom, 336,031 tons of billet and 591,348 tons of slabs. The figures showed contractions of 47% and 26% and a rise of 79% respectively compared with the first seven months of the year before to bring the company's total exports to about 1.34 million tons, down by 14% YOY.

The steelmaker, located in the southwestern Khuzestan Province, exports to over a dozen countries.

About half of the exports goes to the Middle East and North Africa region. Other major export destinations are located in the Far East and Americas.

Other Producers

During the first seven months of the current year, almost all other producers, including Hormozgan Steel Company and Khorasan Steel Company, registered downturns.

The former exported 456,972 tons of slab, down by 27% YOY while the latter exported 51,694 tons of rebar, which was down by 29% compared to its exports in the corresponding period of the year before.

Khorasan Steel Company exported 15,141 tons of rebar during the seventh month of the current year, up by 73%. Its bloom exports dropped to zero in that month.

During the seventh month, Hormozgan Steel Company shipped out 41,626 tons of slab, up by 39% YOY.

The South Kaveh Steel Company was the only major steel exporter to register annual increases both during the seventh month of the current year and during the first seven months of the year.

During the seventh month, the company exported 78,500 tons of billet, surging 78% YOY. Its billet exports reached 497,500 tons during the seven months, registering an annual rise of 22%.